Blue Smoke and Murder

Jill Breck was just doing her job as a river guide when she saved the life of Lane Faroe, son of two of St. Kilda Consulting's premier operators. But when a string of ominous events - including a mysterious fire that kills her great-aunt and a furor in the Western art world raised by a dozen Breck family paintings - culminates in a threat to her life, Jill reluctantly calls in a favor.

Innocent as Sin

Kayla Shaw is a private banker in Arizona, smart and capable but underpaid and underappreciated. Rand McCree is a haunted man who paints landscapes in the Pacific Northwest, burning with a need for answers about the terrible event that shattered his world. They are two strangers with nothing in common, until their lives entwine and explode.

The Wrong Hostage

Orphaned at 13, Grace Silva clawed her way out of poverty and violence to become one of the most respected judges on the federal bench. Grace believes in the rule of law, lives it, breathes it. She has always been buttoned up and buttoned down. Except once.

Amber Beach

Donovan International is a power to be reckoned with in the dazzling and cutthroat worldwide gem trade -- and is therefore a target for the murderous greed of unscrupulous competitors. Though a shrewd businesswoman, Honor Donovan has been effectively shut out of the dangerous family enterprise by the Donovan males -- until her favorite brother, Kyle, mysteriously vanishes along with a fortune in stolen amber.

Moving Target: Rarities Unlimited, Book 1

The troubling message from Serena Charters' late grandmother appears in a package containing four pages of a centuries-old illuminated manuscript - a strange inheritance that hides many secrets...and has already cost many lives. Seeking answers, Serena turns to Erik North of Rarities Unlimited, a reclusive manuscript appraiser with a passion for the past. Without warning they are thrust together into the center of a lethal firestorm that rages between two worlds - one long dead yet living on in an ancient text, the other chillingly alive and fraught with peril.

Perfect Touch: A Novel

An art dealer and owner of her own design studio, Perfect Touch, Sarah "Sam" Maddox travels the world to find the ideal artwork for her clients. Her sophisticated, comfortable life in San Francisco is light years away from the poverty of her family's dairy farm, and Sam will do whatever it takes to keep her business strong. A dedicated urban career woman focused on her work, she doesn't have time or energy for a family or distracting romantic entanglements.

Die in Plain Sight: A Novel of Suspense

When Lacey Quinn inherits the striking landscapes done by her late, much-loved grandfather, she believes they are as good as anything hanging in museums. But the paintings now in her possession are more than the works of a talented master. They are anguished voices from the grave...crying murder! Lacey begins researching her grandfather's past - and is rocked almost immediately by a strange series of violent events.

To the Ends of the Earth

Photographer Cat Cochran has been to exotic places most people only dream about, but all she wants to do is settle down and get her life in order. One last assignment and she can put her past behind her. But first she must photograph the mysterious and elusive ship designer T.H. Danvers and his awesome creations.

Dangerous Refuge: A Novel

Beautiful, sweet Shay and dark, dangerous Tanner don′t have a lot in common. He′s a suspicious big city cop come home to his family′s ranch and she′s a bleeding heart who works for a group that seeks out ranches to conserve after the owners have passed away. But the suspicious death of Tanner′s uncle at his ranch throws the two opposites together and sparks fly.

Troublemaker: A Novel

For Morgan Yancy, an operative and team leader in a paramilitary group, nothing comes before his job. But when he's ambushed and almost killed, his supervisor is determined to find out who's after the members of his elite squad - and why. Due to worries that this unknown enemy will strike again, Morgan is sent to a remote location and told to lay low and stay vigilant. But between a tempting housemate he's determined to protect and a deadly threat waiting in the shadows, keeping under the radar is proving to be his most dangerous mission yet.

Illusion Town

Hannah West and Elias Coppersmith have no regrets about their impulsive wedding since they can't remember it. All either can remember is that they were on the run. With Hannah's dubious background and shaky para-psych profile, she could have done much worse. The competent mining heir arouses her curiosity - as well as other parts of her mind and body. A honeymoon spent retracing their footsteps leads them into the twisting underground catacombs, where secrets from both their pasts will come to light.

Secret Sisters

Madeline and Daphne were once as close as sisters - until a secret tore them apart. Now it might take them to their graves. They knew his name, the man who tried to brutally attack 12-year-old Madeline in her grandmother's hotel. They thought they knew his fate. He wouldn't be bothering them anymore...ever. Still, their lives would never be the same. Madeline has returned to Washington after her grandmother's mysterious death.

Island of Glass: Guardians Trilogy, Book 3

As the hunt for the Star of Ice leads the six guardians to Ireland, Doyle, the immortal, must face his tragic past. Three centuries ago, he closed off his heart, yet his warrior spirit is still drawn to the wild. And there's no one more familiar with the wild than Riley - and the wolf within her....

Sweet Wind, Wild Wind

Lara Chandler has come home to the Rocking B Ranch - though not for Carson Blackridge. Four years ago he cruelly rejected her, and her love turned to hate. But the chance to research the history of the ranch on a business footing is one she just can't pass up. Carson is waiting, though, and he is determined to show her that he's long regretted the way he treated her.

Where There's Smoke

No one knows why Lara Mallory opens up her medical practice in the rowdy Texas town where Tackett Oil owns everything. But everyone remembers her role in the well-publicized scandal that caused the downfall of White House hopeful Senator Clark Tackett. Now the ironfisted matriarch of Tackett Oil intends to use her money and power to drive Lara out of town...especially when Lara meets Key, the hell-raising, youngest Tackett son.

The Trouble with Mistletoe: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel

Willa Davis is wrangling puppies when Keane Winters stalks into her pet shop with frustration in his chocolate-brown eyes and a pink bedazzled cat carrier in his hand. He needs a kitty sitter, stat. But the last thing Willa needs is to rescue a guy who doesn't even remember her....

Beautiful Sacrifice: A Novel

According to Maya legend, December 21, 2012, will mark the end of the world as we know it. Is it myth...or will their prediction become reality? Archaeologist Lina Taylor has devoted her life to studying ancient Maya artifacts, splitting her time between digs in South America and the classroom teaching college students. But the professor's structured, academic life is about to spin out of control. Some extremely valuable and important Maya artifacts have gone missing. Are the culprits fanatics determined to create chaos and usher in annihilation?

Elle (AKA PlantCrone) in the great NorthWest says:"Mayan Calendar adventure/romance-average"

Stars of Fortune: Guardians Trilogy, Book 1

To celebrate the rise of their new queen, three goddesses of the moon created three stars, one of fire, one of ice, one of water. But then they fell from the sky, putting the fate of all worlds in danger. And now three women and three men join forces to pick up the pieces....

In the Barren Ground

Rookie cop Tana Larsson doesn't mind the dark and quiet. Five months pregnant and hoping to escape the mistakes of her past, she takes a post in Twin Rivers, population 320. Maybe here she can find peace and community for her child. But with her superior out of commission, Tana becomes the sole police officer in 17,500 square miles.

First Star I See Tonight: A Novel

Piper Dove is a woman with a dream - to become the best detective in the city of Chicago. First job? Trail former Chicago Stars quarterback Cooper Graham. Problem? Graham's spotted her, and he's not happy. Which is why a good detective needs to think on her feet. "The fact is...I'm your stalker. Not full-out barmy. Just...mildly unhinged."

Insidious: FBI Thriller, Book 20

Venus Rasmussen, a powerful eighty-six-year-old woman who still runs Rasmussen Industries, an international conglomerate, believes someone is poisoning her. After Savich and Sherlock visit with her, someone attempts to shoot her in broad daylight. Who's trying to kill her and why? A member of her rapacious family, or her grandson who's been missing for ten years and suddenly reappears? Savich and Sherlock must peel away the layers to uncover the incredible truth about who would target Venus.

The Obsession

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father's crimes and made him infamous. Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she's ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up - especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Sting

When Jordie Bennet and Shaw Kinnard lock eyes across a disreputable backwater bar, something definitely sparks. Shaw gives off a dangerous vibe that makes men wary and inspires women to sit up and take notice. None feel that undercurrent more strongly than savvy businesswoman Jordie, who doesn't belong in a seedy dive on the banks of a bayou. But here she is...and Shaw Kinnard is here to kill her.

Truth or Dare

Zoe is an interior designer with a unique sense of style. But even more uncanny is her sense of what's going on under the surface, the secrets a house can hold. At the moment, though, Zoe isn't concerned about a client's space. She's more worried about what's going on in her own house in Whispering Springs, Arizona, where she lives with her new husband, private investigator Ethan Truax.

Publisher's Summary

When she joined St. Kilda's, the elite security consulting firm, Emma Cross thought she'd left behind the blood, the guilt, and the Tribal Wars that defined her life at the CIA. Yet trading spying for investigating yacht thefts didn't alleviate the danger. Now, the same good instincts that got her into trouble at the agency might be the one thing that will help her survive her latest case.

St. Kilda and Emma are tracking a yacht named Blackbird. Emma knows the boat's intended cargo is lethal. What she needs to find out is whether it's biological, chemical, or fissionable. And she's only got seven days to uncover the truth...or a major American city will be lost. Fortunately, she's working with a new partner as menacing and distrustful as the worst enemy she's ever faced—Mackenzie Durand.

But Emma and Mac aren't the only eyes watching Blackbird. Taras Demidov, an expert in extortion and execution in the pay of oligarchs running the Former Soviet Union, is also waiting in the shadows, determined to intercept a fearsomely powerful arms dealer with the money, weaponry, and connections to alter the geopolitical balance.

I am a longtime fan of Elizabeth Lowell - she writes great suspense and this one is no exception. My only disappointment is that she has really gone more toward straight suspense and romance is definitely way down the list in her plots. While I enjoyed the story - the relationship between Mac and Emma was tepid at best and not believable. I miss the intensity Lowell captured in her earlier books - such as the Donovan series. The dynamics between family and lovers, etc. That is definitely not the case in her current books...the book is good though - if you want straight suspense with a romantic plot as an afterthought.

I love Elizabeth Lowell & like the previous reviewer I really enjoyed this book. However, I hated the narrator--it felt like all the people in the story were very distinct speaking old ladies. I had a hard time tuning her out to enjoy the story. This is a first for me. I have never had that problem before & I have many audio books.

This is the first time I've listed to this narrator...and it will be the last! I purchased this book a month ago and have not been able to finish it. I love the St. Kilda series, but this narrator is painful. She reads as if she has a toothpick in the corner of her mouth! Why, Why, Why!

I couldn't tell you anything about the book, other than I've tried to start it 4 times and can't get past the annoying reader! Reader -1 Star! I'm hoping what I can take from the book earns 2.

I learned more about ships in this story and their operation. This was a solid story about piracy and theft. Well thought out and researched. Both characters were realistic, and the story had plenty of intrigue and action. The romance was pretty good, not earth shaking but enough.A good read all in all.

This story was fun and exciting. The only reason it didn't get a fifth star is because of the characters falling into sexual overtones so fast and "in love" before they knew each other at all. The suspense was well written though and the narration was fine.

I enjoyed listening to this book. I was interrupted many times while listening but found the 90 second review was all I needed to get back into the story. I read all of Elizabeth Lowell's books and now I can add her to my Audible author list too.